


syntax of things

by aalphard



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is a Nerd, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awkward Flirting, Humor, M/M, Morning After, Sleep Deprived Akaashi, Sleep Deprived Bokuto, Sort Of, kuroken are getting it on and bokuto has nowhere to sleep, mentions of food play (????), rated m for this whole situation, sex jokes i think?, srlsy its 2am and i havent slept in like 30 hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 09:46:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24348967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aalphard/pseuds/aalphard
Summary: He was also tired and hungry and that’s how he found himself opening his front door and drinking in the slightly cold night breeze.Only something thumped down when the door hit it and Keiji wondered if his neighbors had somehow mistaken his doormat for something else because in the dim light of the hallway, it really looked like a trash bag. He squints and crouches down a bit to try to understand what presented itself right in front of him – and actually yelps when white grayish hair pops up from underneath the layers and it’s only then that he realizes that’s supposed to be something like a nest made out of blankets and there is someone trying to sleep on top of his doormat.Um…,he thinks.How much worse is this night going to get?or: keiji never thought he’d open his door at 2AM to find his neighbor trying to sleep on top of his doormat, but there’s a first time for everything.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 269





	syntax of things

**Author's Note:**

> based on this prompt:
>
>> i went out at 2am to get some snacks at the convenience store down the street and opened my door to find you trying to sleep on the floor of the hallway bc your roommate has his fiancé over so i guess i’ll lend you my couch for the night

_we are for eachother: then_  
_laugh, leaning back in my arms_  
_for life's not a paragraph_

_e. e. cummings_

* * *

He wasn’t a procrastinator.

Really, that was _far_ from the truth. But when his neighbor started to bang loudly at the wall, crying out and moaning like there was no tomorrow, Keiji thought it would be best to wait until the noise stopped. Only it didn’t. He was _trying_ to work on his essay and that would have been hard enough on its own – he had never had so many tabs on his browser before – but apparently he wasn’t supposed to be working on that tonight either way. Honestly, he was happy his neighbor was getting it on, it only meant he managed to have an active sex life – something Keiji couldn’t even imagine, being as busy as he was. But what got to him was the fact that they _unfortunately_ shared a bedroom wall and that meant Keiji would be able to hear every single _a-little-bit-higher-_ moan.

He tried moving to the living room, but by then he was already stressed out and his stomach growled for the umpteenth time and he figured he might as well make something before going back to his one-hundred-page-articles that he wasn’t sure he really wanted to read. Yeah, he still had a week to finish the essay, but he wanted to get rid of it as fast as he could.

Trying to find anything _easy_ to make, Keiji began his raid on the cupboards. _Seriously_ , he thought. _I need to go grocery shopping first thing in the morning_. The only thing he had in there was a highly questionable healthyish _whatever-that-thing-was_ that Kei had left there for him when he came over a few weeks ago. He was most definitely _not_ eating that, no matter how hungry he was.

He walked back to his room only so he could grab his keys and wallet – there was a convenience store just down the street and he was _dying_ for some snacks and their crappy coffee. Maybe he’d get a few meat buns and a double-shot. He’d have to ask them if they didn’t happen to have any ear mufflers because it was bound to be a _long_ night. His neighbors apparently had a lot of stamina and he didn’t think he’d be able to pass through them on the hallways of the complex ever again without remembering their moans and _terrible_ attempts at dirty talk. Not that he was any better at it, but it was still pretty cringe-worthy.

Taking a look around his apartment, Keiji feels a tired sigh escaping his throat. He was one of the few people in the complex who didn’t have a roommate, and being as busy as he was with the thousands of articles and books-no-one-has-ever-heard-about he had to read, he didn’t really have that much time to clean. It’s not like it was _messy_ or dirty, it’s just that it would’ve been so much better if there was someone else living with him. And he could also use the company for a little while. Maybe that was why he didn’t take breaks when he studied – what was the point if he was all alone and had no one to talk to?

He _had_ been writing for who knows how long before his neighbor started getting it on next door as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The clock by his computer said it was around 1:40AM when the noise started and by then he decided he’d better stop writing before he ended up writing lines like “ _oh, yes”_ or “ _harder”_ between the lines of his Japanese Literature essay. He didn’t think his professor would like that very much. He was also tired and hungry and that’s how he found himself opening his front door and drinking in the slightly cold night breeze.

Only something thumped down when the door hit it and Keiji wondered if his neighbors had somehow mistaken his doormat for something else because in the dim light of the hallway, it really looked like a trash bag. He squints and crouches down a bit to try to understand what presented itself right in front of him – and actually _yelps_ when white grayish hair pops up from underneath the layers and it’s only then that he realizes that’s supposed to be something like a _nest_ made out of blankets and there is someone trying to sleep on top of his doormat. _Um…_ , he thinks. _How much worse is this night going to get?_

And then he sees golden-colored eyes staring sleepily at him and he squints. In less than a second, the lump jumps up again and Keiji has to take a step back so he’s not tackled over by accident.

“I’m so sorry!” He yells, burying himself further into his blankets.

“Y-yeah, sure,” Keiji stutters, still trying to understand what’s going on. He knows the man standing in front of him – they hadn’t spoken much ever since Keiji moved in and that might be partially his fault for not being that sociable. But they’d always greet each other in the mornings and sometimes they got their mails mixed up, but not more than that. “Why are you sleeping on my doormat?”

Bokuto grins, closing his eyes for a second. There are dark bags under them and Keiji wonders if he’s been having trouble to sleep because of his roommate or something else. From how tired he looks, Keiji starts to think it might be a mix of both. They’re both very loud, Bokuto and Kuroo, something he found out only two days after moving – they were always talking and having karaoke competitions and they were noisy in everything they did. Keiji was glad he’d always been a morning person or else he’d probably have murdered one of them by now.

“Kuroo has his fiancé over,” he chuckles. “They haven’t seen each other in a while and it’s been hard to sleep in my room when they’re getting it on after so long. I tried moving to the couch but that didn’t work and so I thought about sleeping outside, but the floor is too cold for me and you’re the only one who has a doormat. I figured it was better than sleeping on the floor.”

His voice is loud and he moves too much when he’s talking.

“What about you?” He asks before Keiji even has a chance to think of something else to say. “Why are you leaving your apartment at…” he looks inside his blankets and grins. “Exactly 2:06 AM? _Booty call?”_

Keiji snorts. “Your roommate is very loud and we unfortunately share a bedroom wall. I figured I’d try to write my essay but I got hungry and there’s nothing at home. I’m going to get some snacks and the crappy coffee from the convenience store just down the road.”

Bokuto nods, a shy smile spreading across his face. He steps to the side and looks away, but Keiji doesn’t move. He’s just standing there, wondering if it would be weird to ask his neighbor to go grab something to eat. Maybe he could even offer his couch for him to sleep on? It’s not like he had any sort of second intentions by offering, but none of them would be able to sleep, anyway, and it would be fun to have some company. He wondered if Bokuto would think he was weird if he asked.

“Actually,” Bokuto speaks up. “Do you think I could go grab that coffee with you? I’m freezing out here!”

Keiji chuckles. “Yeah,” he steps outside and closes the door behind him. “Are you going wrapped up in your blankets, though?”

“I’m wearing my pajamas,” he snorts. “Didn’t even think about changing. But I’ve got my sneakers! It’s all good, no one’s going to notice!”

_Highly questionable_ , Keiji thinks. Who wouldn’t notice a six foot tall man standing in the middle of a tiny convenience store, wrapped up in who knows how many blankets, wearing pajamas _and_ sneakers? Not to mention the _hair_. _Oh, Lord, why did I think this was going to be a good idea?_

It’s only when they arrive and Keiji grabs a basket that Bokuto speaks up again.

“So, what’s your major?”

“Japanese Language and Literature,” he answers in a whisper, eyes scanning their snacks session. Maybe he should get a few rice crackers and some potato chips. Or maybe he should get Oreos. Sugar always helped him through his essays. _Maybe all of those_. “What about you?”

“I’m on Photography,” he giggles. “Lots of late nights for you?”

Keiji grabs a few Oreo packets and throws them on his basket. “Tell me about it. You get used to it, though. It’s just not that much fun when you have to read three books in one day.”

“Harsh!”

“So you’re into watching people,” Keiji looks up at him and grins when Bokuto cocks his head to the side, furrowing his brows. “You’re one of those people that end up being stalkers and serial killers? I’ll make sure to get curtains in all of my windows and double-check my locks whenever I leave the house, then.”

He takes a second to process what Keiji says, but when he does, he _howls_ – and Keiji is glad the convenience store is empty at 2AM because that means no one will be looking at him weird because of this man-kid who stands in front of him, snuggled up to his blankets and giggling as if Keiji had just told him the funniest joke ever.

“Hopefully you won’t need to.” He chuckles, looking down at Keiji with a sweet smile on his face. “How do you feel about grabbing some frozen pizza or something? I’m _starving_.”

He wasn’t really thinking about that. He was only thinking about getting some snacks, like cookies and chips, maybe a few packets of ramen to get him through the weekend and _then_ he’d finally go grocery shopping. But there was a loud man standing in front of him talking about frozen pizza and popcorn and ice cream tints and chocolate bars and even cereal. Keiji didn’t even _like_ cereal, but he grabbed the one Bokuto recommended. It seemed like it would throw him into a sugar rush from a single spoonful and he wasn’t all that excited about that. But Bokuto creeped him out a bit and he was _so loud_ – to be honest, he only grabbed it because it would make him shut up for a second.

It’s only when they reach the frozen section that Bokuto grinds weirdly, grabbing Keiji by the wrist and dragging him towards the next aisle. There are all kinds of sweets, from chocolate bars to chopped nuts, from marshmallows to whipped cream. He giggles like a child, picking up a bottle of caramel sauce and almost rubbing it on Keiji’s face.

“My roommate got one of those today,” he says as if it’s the funniest thing in the world.

“Yeah? And?”

“He bought one of those along with a can of whipped cream,” he giggles once again and Keiji wants to ask what’s so funny about that. Before he can, though, Bokuto lowers his voice and continues in a whisper: “He got those and also three _boxes_ of condoms.”

Keiji feels his cheeks burn and he’s thankful the caramel sauce bottle is covering his face.

“I think you’ll be seeing lots of me sleeping in your doormat for the next week,” he grins. “I promise I’ll treat you to something when Kenma leaves.”

_So the fiancé’s name is Kenma_ , Keiji thinks. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to meet him and actually look him in the eye after hearing him moan that loudly. But then again, he might never need to, so it’s not really something he should be concerned about.

“Yeah, sure,” he snorts, walking back to the frozen section. “Mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?”

Bokuto hums for a second before following him. “I like coffee ice cream. But cookie dough is nice as well. Maybe both?”

“Sure,” he mumbles, crouching down to grab them. “But you’ll have to treat me to a fancy dinner after all of this.”

“You bet,” he giggles.

They walk around the store for a bit, Bokuto excitedly running around, still wrapped up in his blankets as if it’s a cape. Keiji walks slowly behind him, not being able to stop his lips from breaking into a smile – it’s fun to have some company, he thinks. _Maybe I should start looking for roommates_ , he thinks. _It’ll make grocery shopping a little fun._ Suddenly, though, Bokuto stops running and stands still, not making noise anymore.

“What’s up?”

“Just thinking,” Bokuto whispers, whipping his head over his shoulder so he can look Keiji in the eyes. “Don’t you think Kuroo would have been better off buying chocolate rather than caramel? It’s tastier, right?”

Keiji blinks up at him, not quite sure _why_ he thought that was a good question or why it was even _relevant_. And it’s not like Keiji could answer, being as awkward as he was – sex was something he only knew in theory. It’s not like he didn’t go around and made out with some people at parties before, because he’d gotten his fair share of that, but it never went beyond. He didn’t think too much about it, as busy as he was, and it seemed like a lot of effort to go out and find someone to hook up with. He wasn’t exactly a romantic, but he wasn’t one to give up his first time to someone whose name he didn’t even know. Kissing was enough for him – even though he hadn’t had anyone in the last three months. It was _fine_ , he didn’t need it.

“I wouldn’t know,” he whispered and Bokuto giggled.

“Wanna know a secret?” He wiggled his eyebrows and Keiji didn’t answer. He didn’t exactly _want_ to, if he was being honest. “Me neither.”

_Oh._

_Oh?!_

“Really?” Keiji snorts. “I had this image of you in my head and now it’s completely shattered. You’re not at all what I had imagined you were.”

“ _Really?!”_ Bokuto shrieks. “Is that good or bad?”

Keiji pretends he’s thinking. He closes his eyes and tilts his head to the side. When he opens his eyes again, Bokuto is staring at him with widened eyes and mouth hanging open, furrowed brows and shoulders brought up to his face as if he’s waiting for the impact.

“I think it’s good,” he chuckles. “I thought you were well-adventured in that _area_ , though, from how much you guys talk about it.”

“Oh, well,” Bokuto giggles, shrugging and turning his back to Keiji once again. “Kuroo knows a lot about it and likes to talk about indecent things all the time. I’ll find out eventually, I guess. But! So are you, though.”

Keiji snorts. “What about me?”

“You’ve got that mysterious aura and you’re quiet and no one knows anything about you. You never order anything online, man. What kind of college student _doesn’t_ buy things from Amazon?”

He _laughs_ , actually laughs, throwing his head back and letting the sound come off as if it’s nothing, as if it’s so easy to make him laugh. He doesn’t even remember the last time he laughed like this, but he can’t help it – Bokuto is one funny guy and he’s always saying stupid things or running around like he’s a kid that somehow got stuck in the body of a college student. And it’s nice being with him.

“I thought you’d be experienced, since girls like to flock around the mysterious, bad-boy type!” He sighs. “Maybe that’s why I never got a girlfriend…”

“Yeah, well.” Keiji whispers. “It’s actually pretty normal that there are no girls flocking around me since I don’t really swing that way.”

Bokuto hums, turning towards him again. His eyes are dull and his lips are pressed against each other – and for a second there, Keiji feels his heart making its way up his throat. _I fucked up, I fucked up, I shouldn’t have said anything, I fucked up real bad_ , is what goes through his head. But then he’s smiling and opening his arms, throwing the blankets on the floor and giggling like a kid again. _What the fuck._

“Good to know!” he throws his arms around Keiji and _actually lifts him up in the air_ , not a tiny bit concerned about the basket or the things that might fall.

“W-why?” Keiji stutters when he’s finally got his feet on the ground again. _Fuck_ , he thinks. _This guy might actually be insane_.

“Well!” he giggles. “I've never had a girlfriend,” he says. _Yeah, so what?!_ “But I didn’t say I never had a boyfriend, did I?”

Keiji feels his eyes widening and his mouth opening and he has no idea what he should say because _holy fuck_ , what do you say in situations like this? Did they just came out to each other in the middle of a 24-hour convenience store at, _what_ , 3AM? And they didn’t even _know_ each other before Keiji toppled him over while opening his door. _What a weird night_ , he thinks.

“He tried getting in my pants,” Bokuto giggles once again. Keiji raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t let him, though. I karate-chopped him in the head and he broke up with me.”

“ _What,”_ is all Keiji can muster.

But Bokuto doesn’t answer him, grabbing his blankets and wrapping them around his shoulders again, resuming his running through the store. Keiji just stands there for a few seconds, blinking at where Bokuto stood and thinking _what the fuck is going on_ before his name is called out from a few aisles to the left and he blinks up, shaking his head and starting to walk towards where Bokuto is calling him. _Is that how people make friends now?_ , he thinks to himself when he sees the lump of blankets crouching down on the floor in front of a coffee machine.

_Right_ , he thinks. _I came here for the coffee._

* * *

The walk back to the complex is… _something else_. Bokuto keeps tripping over his own feet, over the blankets that wrap around his legs and Keiji sees himself carrying all the bags on his own, on top of being the one carrying the coffee cups. There is absolutely _no way_ he’ll let Bokuto carry any of these when he can’t even stand up straight. Not that Keiji is any better, the sleepiness pulling his eyelids down and making his vision slightly blurry – but he’s not the one who’s tripping over thin air, is he?

Bokuto is rambling but Keiji doesn’t really pay attention, only nodding whenever he giggles and asks “ _right?”_ or “ _don’t you think so?”_ because he’s too hungry and too tired to pay attention to anything other than getting home, opening his door and chugging down the crappiest coffee he has ever had in his entire life. But he doesn’t have a coffee pot at home, so that’s his only option right now. It’s enough to keep him awake and that’s all he needs now.

“You sure you don’t need any help?” He asks when they finally arrive at the complex, reaching out for the bags.

“Not really,” Keiji giggles, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before speaking up again. They lived in the third floor and there was no elevator. The bags weren’t exactly _heavy_ , but he wasn’t exactly _athletic_ either. “But I don’t really trust you to not fall over and crush the chips.”

“Fair enough,” Bokuto giggles, walking up the stairs.

It takes Keiji a few seconds to finally follow him. The hallways are dim-lit and Bokuto trips over the blankets and over his feet lots of times, cussing every time, before they arrive at their floor. It’s somewhat silent, but as they walk forward, getting closer to Keiji’s apartment, it’s pretty clear his neighbor is _still_ at it, and he asks himself just how much stamina these guys have. Bokuto snorts, shaking his head and whispering something Keiji can’t really understand.

He puts the bags down and feels his pockets for his keys. As soon as he opened the door, though, he cursed himself for not cleaning his apartment. It wasn’t _dirty_ , but it wasn’t the best environment to bring a guest in, with a few books scattered around and the laundry he hadn’t yet put away, neatly folded on top of his coffee table – and Bokuto didn’t seem to care about any of that, taking off his shoes and walking in without even waiting for Keiji to pick up the bags. _Well, isn’t this guy rude_ , he thinks.

“ _Akaashi,”_ he whines, throwing himself on top of the couch. “Let’s watch something!”

“I need to study,” he lies, walking to the kitchen and setting the bags on the counter. “Do you want your coffee?”

He doesn’t answer, but Keiji knows he’s walking towards the kitchen when he hears a loud thump and a string of curses before Bokuto’s face shows up by the door. He grins and his eyes seem to sparkle when Keiji snorts, shaking his head. _How old is he? Twelve?!_

They’re too close when Bokuto grabs his coffee and offers to help put the groceries away. He talks about nothing in particular – and Keiji is somewhat glad he isn’t because he’s _so tired_ and he just wants to sleep but he can still hear the faint moaning coming from the other apartment and he swears he’s going to punch Kuroo the next time they pass each other on the hallways. He won’t even say anything – he’ll just punch him. _Hard_.

“Akaashi?”

“Y-yeah,” he blinks up, still in a daze, and Bokuto is tilting his head to the side, eyes squinted. “Sorry, did you say anything?”

“Yeah,” he snorts, shaking the ice cream tints on Keiji’s face. _Right. Snacks._ “What do you think about pizza? We can put one of them in the oven and watch some stupid rom-com loud enough so we don’t hear their moans for some time. And then we stuff ourselves and eat ice cream and then we go to sleep. What do you think?”

Keiji doesn’t really know how to answer. This night wasn’t exactly going as he planned, in the first place, because his neighbor decided to have sex _very loudly_ and it didn’t seem like they were stopping any time soon – _amazing stamina_ , Keiji thought. And when he thought he could finally get some sort of peace with his snacks and late-night study schedule, _this guy_ shows up and makes Keiji spend money he wasn’t even sure he could have spent, and is now trying to convince him to watch some rom-com he doesn’t even _know_. _Seriously. This guy…_

“Uh… _sure_.” He ends up saying – because Bokuto is staring at him _intently_ , like this is the best Friday night ever. Which, for Keiji, couldn’t be further from the truth.

And that’s how he finds himself on his bed, being hugged from behind. _Now_ , that wouldn’t normally be something Keiji would think it’s weird because, _come on_ , what kind of college student didn’t want someone to hold them late at night? _Right?_ But it _was_ weird because Keiji only knew his name from their mixed mails and they were _cuddling on his bed_ while they could still hear the couple next door doing their thing and _ohmygod aren’t they tired already?_ His cheeks burned and he couldn’t be less interested in whatever it was that had Bokuto laughing behind him – because all he could think of was the way his breath on his nape made every inch of his body shiver and it was _too much_.

They had devoured most of what they’d bought. The pizza was reduced to crumbs and one of the ice cream tints had been dropped somewhere on his floor – and Keiji didn’t even want to think about the mess he’d have to clean up in the morning. He’d let his future self worry about it.

As he thought, the crappy coffee didn’t do much for him – he was still sleepy and now that he was being embraced, it made all the more comfortable and all he wanted was to fall asleep and snuggle, wrapping his body around Bokuto and letting sleep claim him. But Kuroo and his fiancé were _still_ moaning and Keiji couldn’t bring himself to _not_ think about it when it felt like they were right there with them.

“Have you and Kuroo ever…?” Keiji asks before he can stop himself.

Bokuto looks down at him, brows furrowed. And then his whole face is twisted and he’s resting his head on Keiji’s shoulder and suddenly _he doesn’t remember how he’s supposed to breathe because he’s too close_ , and Bokuto is laughing loud enough for Keiji’s ears to hurt and he’s sure he just busted one of his eardrums because _this guy is loud_.

“No, no!” He shouts, throwing his head back. “ _Definitely_ not! Kuroo is most definitely _not_ my type! No, no, no! Not at _all!”_

_Then, who is?_ , he thinks, but he doesn’t ask. Because it’s definitely a weird question. Not that this whole situation isn’t weird by itself, but Keiji doesn’t want to make things any worse than they are now. He feels like he’s a character from a crappy book because there is _no way_ this is real life. He can’t help but think about it, though. Who _would_ be Bokuto’s type? He’s a pretty athletic guy, so probably someone who shared the same interests? He’s also pretty loud, and Keiji thinks maybe he likes someone who can stand their ground and talk as loudly as he does. Well. It shouldn’t have bothered him – but it did. Just a tiny bit. And he’s not sure what the tug in his heart is supposed to be.

They don’t really say anything else – mainly because Keiji doesn’t really trust his words right now. Bokuto is warm and his arms envelop him in the best way possible, and that makes him feel something he’s not sure he was _supposed_ to be feeling and it makes him nervous. He allows himself to close his eyes – and he swears it’s only for a second – because it feels _nice_ , as if he was supposed to be doing that all along. As if there’s nowhere else he’s supposed to be _but_ there, in his arms, listening to his humming and his heartbeat.

_When did I become this cheesy?_ , Keiji thinks.

Bokuto is softly humming against him, as if lulling him to sleep. When he starts playing with his hair, it doesn’t take long before Keiji starts to feel lighter – and sleep claims him way faster than he would’ve liked to. Because _maybe_ he would’ve liked to listen to Bokuto’s voice for a little longer.

* * *

The morning light is harsh and ruthless, making its way through the blinds and cutting everything into ribbons. Keiji had never been a morning person – which is why most of his classes were in the afternoon. But somehow his body had grown accustomed to waking up early because of the noise his neighbors made.

_Right._ _Neighbor. Neighbor had fiancé over and neighbor number two was sleeping on his doormat. They went out to buy snacks and ended up cuddling on Keiji’s bed after stuffing themselves. Keiji fell asleep at some point._

His head hurt.

He blinked slowly, still unsure if he was able to get up. It all came back to him in flashes and he felt his heart pounding all of a sudden. Bokuto grinning at him. Bokuto telling him about how he got dumped after karate-chopping his ex-boyfriend in the head. Bokuto giggling like a child while talking about indecent things. Bokuto holding him close and wrapping their bodies together. _Had they actually slept together?_ _Did anything else happen?_ Keiji felt his head spinning and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to look him in the face.

There was a yelp coming from the living room and Keiji sat up, suddenly remembering that he was, indeed, still at his apartment. _Shit_ , he thought. _What do I do now?_

He stared at the door. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to pretend nothing happened and go back to sleep – then he wouldn’t have to deal with the fact that he, _indeed_ , fell asleep while Bokuto held him. Or he could say he was just _so tired_ because of all the all-nighters he had been pulling recently and the coffee just didn’t do it for him and that’s the only reason he fell asleep. It’s not like he felt _so comfortable he could die_ or anything like that. _Definitely not._ Maybe just a little bit. But Bokuto didn’t need to know that.

Suddenly, there is a bang at his shared bedroom wall and he can hear a muffled _“fuck, Kuroo”_ and he feels like he’s going to throw up. He steals a glance at his clock and can’t really understand _how_ these guys manage to be so _active_ just past 8 AM. Keiji isn’t even a _person_ before noon.

There are a few more muffled moans and Keiji decides he needs to leave his bedroom if he plans to keep even a tiny bit of his sanity intact. Maybe he could ask Kuroo to keep it down – or, like, just do it somewhere else when Kenma comes over again. Just so he can get his bedroom back. He doesn’t really need the rest of the apartment, to be honest. He just wants to be able to do his things without having to hear his neighbor getting it on.

But he wasn’t prepared for the sight before him.

He wasn’t a messy guy, but he had been _busy_ and that made it a little harder for him to keep everything in place. It’s not like he didn’t clean his apartment at all, but it’s not like he cared too much about that either. He wasn’t home most of the time and he never had guests over. It could wait. But Bokuto thought it couldn’t. The apartment smelled like pine and something _burnt_ and Keiji wondered if he had tried to make breakfast – and failed horribly. Maybe that’s why he was cleaning in the first place, to cover up the lingering smell of something burnt.

Keiji assumed most people would freak out. But he wasn’t most people. If anything, he was glad he wouldn’t have to do any of that. 

“Good morning!”

Keiji wonders how he can be so _excitedly loud_ at 8 AM and starts to think that maybe _he_ ’s the weird one for not enjoying mornings that much.

“Good morning, Bokuto-san,” he yawns, and Bokuto giggles.

“Why so formal, Akaashi?”

He doesn’t know how to answer to that. Actually, he doesn’t know how to answer most of the questions Bokuto asks him and he’s not sure he’s awake enough so that his brain is functioning properly. So he doesn’t answer, walking towards the kitchen hoping they didn’t eat everything they bought at the convenience store the night before.

“I went home before you woke up,” Bokuto says, grinning at him. “So I made coffee!”

“Oh,” is all he says back.

There is a thermos bottle – more like a _jug_ – sat neatly on the kitchen counter and Keiji wonders at what time Bokuto was used to waking up if he had time to do all of that before he woke up. But, again, his brain isn’t working well enough so that he can actually _think_ so he shrugs it off before it gives him a headache.

There’s also a plate with _something_ in it. It’s kind of brown and it smells bad and Keiji wonders just what the hell was he doing in his kitchen.

“I tried making tamagoyaki but it went horribly wrong and I might have burned it,” he seems apologetic and Keiji actually chuckles. “Oh! I made you laugh!”

“Is that something you should be proud of?”

Bokuto grins widely, nodding furiously.

_This guy is so weird_ , Keiji thinks while he’s pouring himself some coffee. “Do you want some?”

Bokuto shakes his head, making his way towards the front door. _He’s leaving already?,_ is what Keiji thinks. He didn’t even have breakfast. He didn’t play around. He didn’t say anything about… well. _Anything_. And it shouldn’t have bothered him because they weren’t really _friends_ , they were neighbors and Keiji was kind enough to let him sleep with… Oh, _fuck_. Were they cuddling? Did they _cuddle? Did they actually sleep in each other’s arms like they were–_

Fuck.

Keiji doesn’t even notice the horrified expression he’s making until Bokuto giggles.

“What?” His voice is sharp and snarky and Keiji doesn’t like what it does to his groin.

“I, uh…” _what?_ , what was he supposed to say? _Thanks for not sexually assaulting me in the middle of the night? Will you come back? Can we hang out some other time? Maybe we can go out for fancy coffee instead of the crappy one from down the block?_ “Do you usually clean and cook for everyone who lets you crash at their place or am I special?”

His smile is sweet – but there’s also something Keiji doesn’t really recognize behind it all and it excites him. His mug is forgotten on the counter, the coffee probably already running cold, but the golden eyes are _drawing him in_ and he feels like he’s been hypnotized.

“You’re definitely special,” Bokuto giggles. “Your coffee will get cold.”

_Fuck the coffee_ , he thinks.

“Are you leaving already?” He asks, only hoping he doesn’t sound as desperate as he feels.

Bokuto smiles at him. It’s different than all the other smiles Keiji has seen from him and it makes his heart hurt a bit – he seems _apologetic_ and it makes him wonder if they did anything they weren’t supposed to last night, if he forgot something he shouldn’t have forgotten and it’s _unfair_ that he’s the only one feeling that shaken up.

Maybe it’s because he’s not used to having friends. Maybe it’s because he felt safe around the loud and pesky neighbor of his. Maybe it’s because he might have wanted him to stick around for longer so they could talk when none of them were hungry or sleep deprived. Maybe he just wanted to be around him for a few more hours and ask about… anything, really. Maybe he just wanted the company or maybe he just wanted him to stay.

He wasn’t a hopeless romantic by any means – and he was definitely not _in love_ –, but the thought of having someone to wake up to, to have breakfast with and share a bed, sleeping tucked into each other’s arms… maybe it didn’t seem all that bad, all of a sudden.

“I have a photoshoot to do today,” he says.

Right.

He’s in the Photography Department.

He has to take photos.

_Right._

“Oh,” is all he says back. “Right, of course.”

Bokuto grins, waving before he opens the door and steps outside. Keiji lets out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. _Right_. They weren’t lovers. For _fucks_ sake, they weren’t even friends in the first place! But _why_ was his chest hurting that bad, then? Why was he being so unreasonable if he _knew_ he was only looking for a place to stay through the night?

He picks up his mug and lifts it to his lips. It’s not hot anymore and he’s not sure he wants it anymore – his stomach is gurgling and he feels like he’s going to be sick.

“Akaashi?”

He almost drops his mug onto the floor.

“Y-yeah!”

“Do you mind if I come over again tonight?” he asks, winking. Keiji’s sure his heart stopped for a few seconds and he has to blink up at the man standing at his front door, taking in the sight before he’s able to process what he just said.

Oh.

_Oh._

“Y-yeah,” he mumbles out, hoping his voice isn’t as wrecked as it seems to be. “Sure! I’m… I’ll be h-here!”

Bokuto nods, smiling at him sweetly before closing the door.

And Keiji just stands there for a second, not really knowing what to do.

_He said he’ll be back tonight_ , he thinks. _Maybe I should go grocery shopping, then? I’ll take a shower and then I’ll go out. When I get back, I’ll work on my essay and then I’ll make us a nice dinner and–_

Fuck.

Keiji puts his mug down, taking a deep breath, leaning against the counter for support. He places a hand over his chest, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as his lips are tugged up without him even realizing it. He’s _too_ far gone and he doesn’t even care.

Maybe he should check if chocolate is, in fact, tastier than caramel.

**Author's Note:**

> am i sorry for this???? not at all
> 
> now am i tired??? HELL YEAH


End file.
